At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 567: When the stars shine brightly and with the best student of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 567: When the stars shine brightly and with the best student of the Han Dynasty
"Mortar bombardment, repel the Huns' pursuers." Zhang Meng shouted, and at the same time he came to a mortar and adjusted the angle of the mortar to face the core area of ​​the battlefield. He has more than ten years of experience in using both artillery and mortars, and is the artilleryman with the highest hit rate in this mercenary team.

"put!"

"Puff puff!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Hundreds of mortar shells exploded in the center of the battlefield. Soldiers on both sides were hit by mortar shells and their flesh and blood flew everywhere. The Hun soldiers had to lie on the ground or hide in the corners. The core of the battlefield was filled with smoke and the wailing of injured soldiers was everywhere.

However, the Parthian mercenaries ran as fast as they could towards their own positions. After passing a line of defense, these Germanic mercenaries lay on the ground and began to gasp for breath. Although wearing armor could provide them with strong protection, it also limited their physical strength.

Junchen frowned at the scene in front of him. The enemy's artillery was too accurate, even surpassing the Xiongnu's artillerymen. This was simply not a strength that the Parthian artillerymen could possess. He estimated that the enemy either had maritime mercenaries or the Han court had secretly sent artillerymen to support Parthia.

He thought for a moment and said, "Sound the retreat!"

"Dang dang dang!" The sound of gongs rang out on the battlefield, and the Hun soldiers retreated like a tide.

Junchen said to his messenger, "Enter the battlefield, clean up the battlefield, and take good care of our wounded soldiers!"

"Yes!" After receiving Junchen's order, the messenger quickly went to convey Junchen's order.

Soon, Huns appeared on the battlefield, waving white flags and collecting the dead and wounded soldiers.

The Parthian Army also had a small team with white flags, carrying stretchers to collect the wounded and dead soldiers. The soldiers of both sides did not disturb each other, and each transported the dead soldiers and wounded soldiers back to the camp.

Persepolis, Council Hall.

The Parthian nobles, the Roman nobles who came to support them, the Seleucid nobles, the nobles of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and even the mercenary leaders of the usually barbaric Gauls and Germans were all silent.

They knew that the Huns were powerful, but they didn't expect them to be so powerful. 5000 German mercenaries, who were well-equipped, were killed by the Huns in just one hour. Who could believe this? It would have been fine if they couldn't beat the Huns in firearms, but they couldn't even beat them in cold weapon combat.

The words "the Huns are invincible" began to be engraved in their minds.

After seeing the powerful fighting capacity of the Huns, the nobles of the Ptolemaic dynasty were deeply touched, but they were not too afraid, because the Huns were too far away from them. Even if the Parthian Empire was destroyed, there was still the Seleucid Empire in front. They thought that if the sky fell, there would be tall people to hold it up.

The heyday of the Ptolemaic dynasty was during the reign of Ptolemy III, which was several decades ago. At that time, the national strength of Hellenistic Egypt reached its peak. Ptolemy III defeated the Seleucid dynasty in the Third Syrian War and occupied its capital, Antioch.

However, due to the rebellion against the Ptolemaic dynasty that broke out on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, he had to withdraw his troops from Syria and return home. His victory in the Third Syrian War was the capture of the coastal areas of Syria and southwestern Asia Minor.

But he did not choose a good successor. Ptolemy IV was a licentious and incompetent ruler. He indulged in alcohol and pleasure, surrounded himself with flatterers, and slaughtered his family. He killed his mother, several brothers, and uncles. When he succeeded to the throne, the Ptolemaic dynasty began to decline.

However, the Ptolemaic Dynasty happened to encounter the period of Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Dynasty, who defeated the Ptolemaic army many times, occupied the land of the eastern Mediterranean, and used his third daughter to control the Ptolemaic Dynasty through marriage. So they were considered the younger brother of the Seleucid Empire. Of course, ten years ago, the Romans defeated the Seleucid Empire and began to win over the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

At this time, the Ptolemaic Dynasty had become the granary of the Mediterranean hegemon. When Seleucus was strong, they were Seleucus's younger brothers. When Rome was strong, they were Rome's younger brothers. The advantage of a small country is that they do not have to consider the long-term period. Anyway, the Huns rushed to the Mediterranean front line, affecting the interests of the Seleucid Dynasty and the Roman Republic.

The same is true for Carthage. After being defeated in the three Punic Wars, they became a vassal state of Rome. Most of their overseas colonies were occupied by Rome, their territory was divided, and the number of troops was controlled. The famous general Hannibal was also driven away. At this time, they had become puppets of the Romans.

Apatius was surprised by the fighting power of the Huns and even considered whether to lead the army to escape from Persepolis. The Roman legion he brought was a cold weapon legion, without any artillery or muskets. He himself was a conservative in the military and looked down on muskets and artillery, which were just toys.

After today's battle, he planned to return to Rome and ask the Roman Senate to start reforming the military system and increase the purchase and manufacture of muskets and artillery.

"Rome can't continue to fight among itself like this!" Apatius said secretly.

This era can truly be said to be a time of brilliant stars. In history, the Han Dynasty and the Huns were in their respective periods of prosperity, and the two sides were fighting fiercely. In the West, the Parthian Empire rose, and the Romans had just defeated the Carthaginians and established their hegemony in the Mediterranean.

The Seleucid Empire also welcomed their sixth king, the great emperor who brought the Seleucid Empire to its heyday, Antiochus III. He has fought wars in the past 36 years since he ascended the throne, and has brought the entire world east of the Mediterranean under his rule, expanding the territory by more than two times. In history, they even conquered India, and the widest part of their territory was from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to the territory of India in the Mesopotamian Basin. It can be said that Antiochus III was the Han Wu Emperor of the Seleucid Empire.

Of course, Xu Fan has intervened in this world. Antiochus III wanted to re-conquer the Parthian Empire, his disobedient younger brother, but was beaten up by the Parthian Empire. It was only because the Parthian Empire still had a powerful enemy, the Huns, that the Parthian Empire restricted its military direction. After defeating the Seleucid Empire and demanding some compensation, the two sides reconciled with each other.

But Antiochus III could not expand in the west, so he expanded eastward along the Mediterranean Sea, attempting to seize Ptolemy's small Greek states along the coast of Asia Minor and other independent Greek city-states such as Smyrna and Lanzacus.

However, Antiochus III's move made the relationship between Rome and the Seleucid Empire increasingly tense, and the situation worsened when Antiochus marched into Thrace in 196 BC. Rome demanded that the Seleucid forces must withdraw from Europe, but Antiochus III claimed that Thrace was originally the territory of Seleucus I and also took in the exiled Carthaginian general Hannibal.

In 192 BC, Antiochus III led an army of to fight against the Romans, but was eventually defeated by Rome, which was at its peak. The Seleucid Empire ceded Europe and Asia Minor west of the Taurus Mountains, limited the number of its navy, and paid a large amount of compensation to Rome.

A few years later, Antiochus III died and the Seleucid Empire began to decline. Of course, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The Seleucid Empire only declined for a dozen years, but its national strength remained strong and it was one of the most powerful countries in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Of course, Rome was not in a good situation. After defeating its biggest rival in the Mediterranean, the Senate showed its habit of infighting. After defeating the powerful enemy, it began to deal with its own consuls. At that time, the Roman consul was Lucius Cornelius Scipio. In order to celebrate Rome's victory in the East, the Senate gave Lucius Cornelius Scipio the title of "Conqueror of Asia" (ASIATICVS).

But this was just paralyzing the Roman consul. The Roman Senate was already trying to deal with this consul who had a very high prestige in the Roman Republic. This spring, the Roman tribunes accused Lucius Cornelius Scipio of embezzling the indemnity paid by Antiochus III to Rome. The Roman Senate had even begun to formulate charges for Lucius Cornelius Scipio.

Historically, this consul who brought victory to Rome suffered a very miserable end. His property was divided up by the Roman senators, and he soon disappeared, and his entire family also disappeared in the long river of history.

But now Apatius saw that the Huns were so powerful in fighting. Neither the Parthians nor the Germans were a match for the Huns, and these two were powerful enemies that even Rome might not be confident of defeating. In other words, Rome might not be a match for the Huns. The legend that the Huns were invincible was true. Now Rome needed to be led by consuls with rich combat experience to deal with this powerful enemy, the Huns.

Everyone present was thinking about how to deal with the Huns, and the meeting room was extremely quiet.

Others could keep silent because they could return to their own countries, but the city lord Manis had to ask about Anxi's future. "Instructor Zhang, what should we do now?"

Zhang Meng said: "When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. Now that the war has reached this stage, we can only defend Persepolis and organize the people in the city for training. Train more soldiers to avoid muskets and artillery, try to get close to the Huns, and fight hand-to-hand and street battles with the Huns. Try to reduce the Huns' organizational ability and the power of their firearms, and consume their manpower."

The city lord Manis asked: "Hand-to-hand combat and street fighting?"

They were still fighting hand-to-hand combat. I'm afraid there weren't many legions in the city that could withstand the Huns' bayonet charge!

Zhang Meng said helplessly: "We are defeated quickly in firearms confrontation, so we can only fight hand-to-hand. There are 20 civilians in Persepolis. If we add our army and fight the Huns desperately, even if three of us kill one Hun, we have hope of defeating the Huns."

"Of course, hand-to-hand combat must be combined with street fighting, and we can use the various trenches and low walls in the city to increase our advantage."

Zhang Meng was almost in despair at this time. It was bad enough that he could not defeat the Huns with firearms, but the Parthians' best cold weapons were no match for the Huns. The number of their army was even less than that of the Huns. He didn't know how to fight this war.

If he was commanding the Han army, it would be too easy. If the Huns dared to advance to 30 steps in a dense formation, he would have the Han army's artillery and mortars to teach them a severe lesson. But all this was difficult for the Parthian army to do. Just take today's battle as an example. Only half of the Parthian army's gunpowder was used up. If the battle continued like this, the Parthians would have to endure the Huns' artillery bombardment for at most half a month.

Then Zhang Meng said to Jin Zhe: "From today on, you will lead the people in the city to manufacture artillery shells and black powder needed for the battle. There must be at least 1000 artillery shells and at least 3000 kilograms of black powder. Without this number, our casualty ratio with the Huns will not be reduced. Now the Huns are invading Parthia. As long as their casualties are too heavy, their morale will definitely drop. The Huns' casualties exceeded 3, and they will not be able to break through the city of Persepolis. Fighting the Huns is your only way to survive."

If you are inferior to others in everything, you have no choice but to fight hard.

When Jin Zhe heard this, he said to Zhang Meng in a serious tone, "Don't worry, instructor. I will definitely meet the needs of the front line."

Apatius looked at Zhang Meng and thought about how to bring this Han man to Rome and then establish contact with the Han Kingdom. Now all the muskets and artillery in the Mediterranean came from the Han Empire. If Rome wanted to deal with the Huns, it would need the help of the Han Empire.

"Can you also reserve some firearms for our Roman legion? My men are armed with shields, spears and other cold weapons, but judging from today's situation, if they rush to the front line without muskets, they will only seek death."

Zhang Meng asked: "Have your soldiers ever had experience with firearms training? Do they know how to shoot?"

Apatius shook his head and said, "We in Rome have very few firearms, and these soldiers have never come into contact with muskets."

Zhang Meng said: "Since you have no experience, you should use your own weapons to fight. This will make it easier for you to exert your combat effectiveness. If you rashly use firearms, I am worried that your soldiers will be injured by these firearms."

After the meeting, Apatius found Zhang Meng and said, "The Huns' attack is very fierce. It seems that Persepolis cannot be defended. Instructor, have you ever planned to go to Rome? Our country's elders are very eager to trade and exchange with the Han Dynasty."

Zhang Meng frowned and looked at Apatius. He had also heard about this Roman. He was having a hot relationship with the upper class nobles of Parthia, and all kinds of dirty things were spread out. Fortunately, he had been in Parthia for several years and knew that the nobles here were promiscuous. In addition, he was busy preparing for war, so he didn't care about this kind of thing.

But now he was asked to flee to Rome. Zhang Meng said coldly: "I am just an ordinary sea merchant of the Han Dynasty. If you senators want to establish diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty, you can go to the officials of the Han Dynasty. I do not have the right to establish diplomatic relations with you Romans."

After saying that, Zhang Meng left.

Apatius realized that he was being rejected and said, "What a proud Han Chinese."

However, he was still very convinced of Zhang Meng's arrogance. Today, everyone on the Anxi side fought poorly, but Zhang Meng's artillery battalion fought the best against Wang, and it could even be said that he saved the face of all of them.

Let’s talk about the Huns’ camp.

Zhou Yafu and his entourage observed the Huns' camp as envoys.

"What are the casualties of the Hun army today?" Zhou Yafu asked.

Li Shang said: "There should be less than a thousand people, while the casualties of the Parthians on the opposite side should be more than three to five thousand, and one army was defeated. Although the weapons of the Xiongnu are inferior, their organization is not worse than ours, and they have more combat experience, which helps to make up for the difference in weapons."

Zhou Yafu also recognized this point. Since the Battle of Mobei, the Han Dynasty has not experienced a war of 20 people for years. On weekdays, they only fight bandit wars with a few hundred people, fighting some natives who don't even have iron weapons. The enemy's strength is so poor that they can only accumulate some experience in public security wars, not large-scale corps combat experience. More than half of the Han Dynasty's captains have no experience in large-scale wars. When the veterans of the Battle of Mobei retire, the Han Dynasty will completely lose officers who can command an army of people.

Zhou Yafu felt that the battlefield observation group model was very good and that the court should send more young officers to the center of the World Island to observe the war situation in these countries. This would not only allow them to understand the strength of these powerful countries, but also allow them to observe the latest weapons and tactics. This would be much better than the Han Dynasty working behind closed doors.

At this time they came to the Huns' medical camp. In the medical system, the Huns also learned all the methods from the Han people. There were doctors and nurses. They all wore white clothes and were busy digging out bullets, disinfecting and stopping bleeding for the Huns soldiers. The medical camp was busy and orderly.

The wounded Huns received very good medical treatment. Unless they were unlucky enough to be shot, the Hun doctors' treatment rate for common sword and knife wounds was quite high, even exceeding that of the Han Dynasty. After all, the Huns had been fighting wars of all sizes over the years, and the Hun doctors had accumulated rich experience. On the contrary, the Han doctors did not have the experience accumulated from such a large number of troops.

After the wounded soldiers were rescued, the survivors were sent to a special convalescent camp, while the unfortunate soldiers who died of heavy bleeding were carried away by the soldiers. Zhou Yafu and his men followed these dead soldiers to a more remote place in the camp, where there were also corpses carried in from the battlefield.

Zhou Yafu and his colleagues made a rough calculation and found that there were probably more than 400 bodies of Hun soldiers here.

Here, there was a Confucian scholar, dressed in white, who sang with sorrow and joy to the corpses of the Xiongnu soldiers covered with white cloth: "Bo Niu was ill, and I asked him about it. I held his hand through the window and said, "He is dead. This is fate! This man has this disease! This man has this disease!"

The Xiongnu soldiers around them also said sadly: "It is fate that he is dead! Such a man has such a disease! Such a man has such a disease!"

Zhou Yafu and the others were also saddened by this scene. They felt better after they came out.

Then Zhou Yafu sighed and said, "I have seen many armies of the vassal states. They also built their armies according to the system of our Han Dynasty, but I have never seen anyone learn so well like the Xiongnu. They are the best students of the emperor."

These Confucian scholars are equivalent to the military supervisors in the Han army, who are specifically responsible for boosting the morale of the soldiers, guiding their thoughts, and solving their problems in life.

(End of this chapter)

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